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04.15.2013
Ahlstrom, a global high performance fiber-based materials company, has completed the earlier announced EUR 7 million investments at its Stenay plant, France. With the investment, the plant successfully expanded its product portfolio of one-side coated papers for metalized labels and flexible packaging.
The grades produced at Stenay's paper machine 3 span now from 50 to 160 g/m². These coated papers can be used for metalized beer labels and flexible packaging applications such as biscuits, sweets, coffee bags, pharmacy, pet food bag outer liners, tea envelopes, tobacco pouches, as well as bundle wraps for yoghurt pots.
"By lowering the weight of a paper used for metalized labels, flexible packaging and other graphics and industrial applications, Ahlstrom responds to the need for lighter papers to reduce the weight of packaging and labels and consequently lower their environmental footprint," says Daniele Borlatto, EVP, Label and Processing.
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04.15.2013
Pearson has agreed to sell its 50% holding in BDFM in South Africa to Times Media Group (TMG) for an undisclosed sum.
BDFM is the publisher of some of South Africa’s leading business media including Business Day, BDLive, Financial Mail and Summit TV. TMG is Pearson’s existing partner in BDFM, and the sale takes TMG’s ownership of BDFM to 100%.
The transaction supports Pearson’s continued focus on global business news and analysis through the FT Group, and includes a long-term agreement to secure the editorial independence of the titles. The disposal is consistent with Pearson’s strategy of recent years and the sale of Recoletos in Spain, Les Echos in France and FT Deutschland.
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04.15.2013
Gap Inc. today reported that March 2013 net sales increased 7 percent compared with last year.
Net sales for the five-week period ended April 6, 2013 were $1.56 billion compared with net sales of $1.46 billion for the five-week period ended March 31, 2012. Due to the 53rd week in fiscal year 2012, March 2013 comparable sales are compared to the five-week period ended April 7, 2012. On this basis, the company’s comparable sales for March 2013 were down 1 percent compared with an 8 percent increase for March 2012.
Comparable sales by global brand for March 2013 were as follows:
•Gap Global: flat versus positive 7 percent last year
•Banana Republic Global: positive 1 percent versus positive 5 percent last year
•Old Navy Global: negative 2 percent versus positive 11 percent last year
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04.12.2013
Limited Brands, Inc. reported a comparable store sales increase of 3 percent for the five weeks ended April 6, 2013, compared to the five weeks ended April 7, 2012. The company reported net sales of $894.8 million for the five weeks ended April 6, 2013, an increase of 6% compared to net sales of $840.9 million for the five weeks ended March 31, 2012.
The company reported a comparable store sales increase of 3 percent for the nine weeks ended April 6, 2013, compared to the nine weeks ended April 7, 2012. The company reported net sales of $1.607 billion for the nine weeks ended April 6, 2013, compared to sales of $1.495 billion for the nine weeks ended March 31, 2012.
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04.12.2013
Rite Aid Corporation today reported net income for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended March 2, 2013.
For the fourth quarter, the company reported revenues of $6.5 billion, net income of $123.1 million or $0.13 per diluted share and Adjusted EBITDA of $340.3 million or 5.3 percent of revenues.
For the full year, Rite Aid reported revenues of $25.4 billion, net income of $118.1 million or $0.12 per diluted share and Adjusted EBITDA of $1,128.4 million or 4.4 percent of revenues.
Same store sales for the quarter decreased 2.0 percent over the prior-year period, consisting of a 0.3 percent increase in the front end offset by a 3.1 percent decrease in the pharmacy. Pharmacy sales benefited from a 3.0 percent increase in the number of prescriptions filled in same stores, which was more than offset by an approximate 659 basis point negative impact from new generic introductions. Although new generic introductions have a negative impact on sales, they have a positive impact on gross profit. Prescription sales accounted for 66.5 percent of total drugstore sales and third party prescription sales were 96.6 percent of pharmacy sales.
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04.12.2013
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. today reported net earnings of $1.68 per diluted share ($373.9 million) in the fiscal fourth quarter (fourteen weeks) ended March 2, 2013, an increase of approximately 14% versus net earnings of $1.48 per diluted share ($351.0 million) in the same quarter a year ago (thirteen weeks). Net sales for the fiscal fourth quarter (fourteen weeks) of 2012 were approximately $3.401 billion, an increase of approximately 24.5% from net sales of approximately $2.732 billion reported in the fiscal fourth quarter (thirteen weeks) of 2011. Comparable store sales in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2012 increased by approximately 2.5%, compared with an increase of approximately 6.8% in last year's fiscal fourth quarter.
During the fiscal fourth quarter of 2012, the Company repurchased approximately $305 million of its common stock, representing approximately 5.3 million shares. As of March 2, 2013, the remaining balance of the existing share repurchase program authorized in December 2012 was approximately $2.4 billion.
For the fiscal year (fifty-three weeks) ended March 2, 2013, the Company reported net earnings of $4.56 per diluted share ($1.038 billion), an increase of approximately 12% over net earnings of $4.06 per diluted share ($989.5 million) in the corresponding period a year ago (fifty-two weeks). Net sales for fiscal 2012 (fifty-three weeks) were approximately $10.915 billion, an increase of approximately 14.9% from net sales of approximately $9.500 billion in the corresponding period a year ago (fifty-two weeks). Comparable store sales for fiscal 2012 increased by approximately 2.7% compared with an increase of approximately 5.9% last year. Comparable store sales for the fiscal fourth quarter and fiscal year are based on 14 weeks and 53 weeks, respectively, and exclude Cost Plus, Inc. ("World Market") and Linen Holdings.
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04.12.2013
This year is unlikely to go down as a banner one for the advertising industry. According to marketing intelligence company Warc, global ad spending (based on 12 major markets) will only increase 3% in 2013, down a full percentage point from the company’s forecast from November 2012.
Already expected to be less robust than last year (which had the Olympics and a U.S. presidential election going for it to boost spending), further concerns about the global economy (particularly the debt crises in Europe, and economic slowdowns in China and India) as well as domestic spending cuts just coming into effect led to the downgrade, according to Suzy Young, data and journals director, at Warc.
"With few major political or sporting events this year, global advertising spend growth was always expected to be slower than in 2012,” Young says. “The Eurozone debt crisis also continues to depress growth both among member countries and abroad. To offset this, global ad spend will be reliant on a solid performance from the U.S. and strong growth from emerging markets."
Of the 12 major markets Warc forecasts, only Brazil and Japan were not subject to forecast downgrades, compared to the company’s 2013 reports. Though still slower than previously expected, Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) will continue to be the fastest-growing markets, with increases of 9.5%, 12.4%, 7.9% and 9% growth, respectively.
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04.12.2013
Mobile activation in the Top 100 U.S. magazines has dramatically changed from 2011 to 2012. Several compelling patterns have emerged, notably the increasing popularity of issue-wide mobile programs and magazine branded scanning apps, particularly those leveraging augmented reality, image recognition, and invisible watermarking technology. Over the last two years that Nellymoser has tracked the use of print to digital content in magazines, there has been overwhelming growth in mobile activations used in both editorial and advertising content.
This initiative was designed to amass the most comprehensive picture of how mobile is being deployed in the U.S. magazine market. Every page was examined, every mobile enhancement was launched, and the data was collected on both advertising and editorial pages. Nellymoser uses this data for both industry-wide benchmarking and to inform the design and implementation of print to digital experiences.
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04.12.2013
American Forest & Paper Association President and CEO Donna Harman issued the following statement regarding the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) decision to postpone elimination of Saturday delivery.
“We are pleased with today’s announcement that the USPS will delay its plans to eliminate Saturday mail delivery pending further congressional action, as this reduction in service would have been short-sighted and harmful to their ability to serve customers.
“AF&PA and its members will continue to engage with both the Postal Service and Congress as they seek to improve the agency’s financial viability with a more comprehensive legislative solution.”
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04.11.2013
The USPS’s Board of Governors announced this morning their decision to not proceed with a move to five-day delivery of non-parcel mail in August 2013, as previously announced.
This decision was made given the Continuing Resolution recently passed through Congress directing the USPS to maintain six-day delivery for all mail. As a consequence, given the persistent low liquidity of the agency, the Board has directed management to review and consider all available options to reduce costs or increase revenue. This specifically also includes an exigent rate case, as I learned from a USPS officer today.
The Board’s prepared statement noted the following:
The Board continues to support the transition to a new national delivery schedule…It is not possible for the Postal Service to meet significant cost reduction goals without changing its delivery schedule – any rational analysis of our current financial condition and business options leads to this conclusion. Delaying responsible changes to the Postal Service business model only increases the potential that the Postal Service may become a burden to the American taxpayer, which is avoidable.
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04.11.2013
Costco Wholesale Corporation today reported net sales of $9.67 billion for the month of March, the five weeks ended April 7, 2013, an increase of seven percent from $9.07 billion during the similar period last year.
For the thirty-one weeks ended April 7, 2013, the Company reported net sales of $61.02 billion, an increase of eight percent from $56.34 billion during the similar period last year.
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04.10.2013
FEFCO (European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers) is proud to announce that a further decrease of the Carbon Footprint by 4,8% has been achieved over the past three years (from 2009 to 2011), on top of a reduction by 11,7% from 2006 to 2008. During the last three years, the average carbon footprint of Corrugated was reduced from 784kg/t to 746 kg/t. The main reason is a considerable drop in electricity usage, mainly due to the reduction of electricity bought by kraftliner producers.
Pulp and paper mills with kraft cooking, as used by all kraftliner producers, have invested heavily the last 4 to 5 years on the energy conservation side of their processes. New big boilers for bark and other biofuels combined with steam turbines are used for electricity production. The Corrugated industry intensifies the use of recycled fibers for the production of Corrugated Packaging: the input of recycled paper into new corrugated increased from 82% in 2009 to 85% in 2012. The Corrugated Industry and its suppliers continue exploring ways to reduce the environmental impact of their products. Corrugated Packaging proves again to be a sustainable material, which is highly appreciated both by the supply chain and consumers. According to recent studies, consumers prefer paper-based packaging over other material. Corrugated is economical, can be 100% recycled and perfectly protects goods on their entire journey to the consumer.
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04.10.2013
H.I.G. Capital is nearly ready to box up its latest deal.
The Miami firm is in the final stages of wrapping up a deal for Caraustar Industries Inc., which will see the once-bankrupt packaging products maker change hands from Wayzata Investment Partners, said a person close to the transaction.
The deal is expected to close by the end of the month and will include a debt package provided by Credit Suisse Group, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Jefferies Co., the person said.
Jefferies is advising Austell, Ga.-based Caraustar on the transaction.
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04.10.2013
Results of the FPI “State of the Industry Survey” found that nearly 85 percent of foodservice packaging manufacturers in North America expect their sales volume to improve, and almost three quarters expect higher profits in 2013. Respondents were a little less optimistic in Europe, with just over half expecting volumes to increase and about a third anticipating better profits than last year. All the North American raw materials suppliers indicated sales volume growth, but less than half expect higher profits in 2013. It was a similar story for machinery suppliers; two thirds of those respondents predict elevated volume in 2013, with about a third expecting more profit.
In another positive sign for the industry, more than 70 percent of the North American and European manufacturers reported plans to purchase new rather than used machinery in 2013. The two most common reasons for the planned purchases were market share increase and product capability expansion.
When considering growth potential over the next five years, respondents expect strong sales in single-use packaging from grocery stores and quick service restaurant chains; among North American manufacturers, convenience stores topped the list. Grocery stores, fast casual/quick service restaurants, and nursing homes took the lead for largest growth expectancy in foodservice market segments. Many respondents also reported plans to increase manufacturing of paper and plastic foodservice packaging made with recycled material. This is consistent with results from FPI’s “Trends Survey” released late last year.
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04.10.2013
Valassis is unveiling new targeting capabilities through Brand.net, with a service called Geo-Commerce Retail Zone, which uses over 100,000 local targeting zones created by Valassis to reach prospective consumers on their way to retail.
The Geo-Commerce Retail Zones overlay the trading areas of local stores with transactional data, behavioral data, and data from larger retail trade areas to pinpoint areas where relevant advertising can be delivered to high-potential consumers via mobile devices and other advertising channels.
Using the Brand.net zones, grocery, drug and mass retailers can reach consumers who have the highest propensity to be in the market for a specific product as well as living or commuting through local store trading areas. According to Valassis, third-party measurement has shown that over 90% of the ad impressions delivered in the zones hit target audience households.
So far, 2013 has seen a spate of new ad targeting services combining a local focus with national scale. Last week, mobile advertising technology company 4Info announced the launch of a new mobile ad targeting product, AdHaven Bullseye, that has linked 110 million mobile devices to 97 million U.S. households to enable advertisers to deliver ads with precision comparable to both online and direct mail campaigns.
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04.10.2013
Mail-Gard®, a division of IWCO Direct and one of the nation’s leading providers of critical communication recovery solutions, announced it has partnered with Data Management Internationale (DMI) to offer cloud-based document management recovery services including document capture recovery and document management system archiving.
Most companies utilize some type of document management and scanning systems to capture externally generated records such as invoices, applications, claims and other customer information. Recovery of these services is an essential part of a company’s continuity program. Mail-Gard is now positioned as the only provider of print-to-mail recovery services to offer document recovery solutions. The partnership with DMI enhances Mail-Gard’s core offering of ensuring critical business documents are available anytime, anywhere, whether printed and mailed to customers, or used internally for essential business operations.
“The addition of document management system recovery and scanning services is a natural extension to our Critical Communications Recovery platform,” said Jerry Montella, vice president of sales and general manager of Mail-Gard. “This partnership further strengthens our ability to ensure customers stay in compliance and in business by having access to important documents whenever they need them, from any location.”
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04.10.2013
North America's fourth largest producer of towel and tissue paper, Cascades Tissue Group, today announced an extension of its Cascades Moka line with the launch of the first-ever, unbleached, 100 percent recycled, environmentally preferable facial tissue. This new beige-colored facial tissue unique to Cascades—one of the softest of its kind on the market—follows the award-winning, January 2012 launch of the Cascades Moka bathroom tissue, which created a new category of bathroom tissue that quickly sold through its initial inventory and is now a growing category for the company.
Just like its bathroom tissue predecessor, the new Cascades Moka facial tissue is made of a pulp mix composed of 100 percent recycled fiber, 80 percent of which is post-consumer material and—significantly—20 percent recovered corrugated boxes. Its production is also offset with 100 percent Green-e® certified renewable wind electricity and releases a minimum of 30 percent less greenhouse gas (CO2) than what is used in traditional white recycled tissues. Cascades Moka also holds certification with EcoLogo, Green Seal and the Chlorine Free Products Association.
Ultimately, it offers commercial purchasers the highest hygienic qualities and softness while significantly reducing the environmental impact that's commonly associated with manufacturing a single-use product. A detailed life cycle analysis of the pulp mix of the Cascades Moka undertaken by the company revealed a 25 percent reduction in overall environmental impact when compared to the pulp mix used in its traditional Cascades' 100 percent recycled fiber facial tissue.
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04.10.2013
West Texas Intermediate halted a two-day advance as a report showed stockpiles of U.S. crude increased to the highest level since 1981.
Futures slipped as much as 0.5 percent in New York after the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute said inventories gained 5.1 million barrels last week. An Energy Department report today may show supplies advanced 1.5 million barrels to about 391 million, the highest in 22 years, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts. China’s net crude imports slid to the lowest in six months in March, customs data showed.
“The second quarter is the weakest from the perspective of oil global demand,” said Hannes Loacker, an analyst at Raiffeisen Bank International AG in Vienna. Brent crude may drop further, he said. The blend slumped 5.4 percent last week.
WTI for May delivery slid as much as 44 cents to $93.76 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $93.81 at 12:02 p.m. London time.
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04.10.2013
UPM sells the real estate and machinery at Aureskoski further processing mill in Parkano, Finland, to Tammiwood Ltd. The parties have agreed not to disclose the sales price. UPM operations at Aureskoski mill ceased in December 2012. UPM produced interior wood panels at the mill.
Tammiwood’s major shareholder is Tammiston Puu Ltd., a Finnish company specialised in manufacturing garden products. Four employees working at Aureskoski mill will transfer to Tammiwood as permanent employees.
“The sale of Aureskoski site has a positive effect on the economic life in the area. We think that the new owner has a good opportunity to further develop the site,” says Aki Temmes, Director, Business Control, UPM Timber.
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04.10.2013
One of the most well-known speaker manufacturers in the world, the Finnish company Genelec, has chosen UPM's biocomposite as the material for their new high-end speaker model. The speaker enclosure is manufactured from renewable cellulose fibre based UPM ForMi.
"UPM ForMi fulfils our strict quality requirements and environmental criteria. The material is easy to mould and has excellent acoustic features. It does not require grinding or surface treatment, enabling a smarter and more efficient production process. This fits perfectly with our aim of leading the way in both production technology and environmental matters," says Siamäk Naghian, Managing Director at Genelec.
Finding new alternatives for established production materials was a lengthy process for Genelec. One of the key goals was to find a sustainable and environmentally responsible material that would also guarantee pure audio quality.
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04.09.2013
Two Sides, the fast-growing non-profit organization established to promote the responsible production, use and sustainability of print and paper, today announced that NewPage Corporation has joined the organization.
“For a company like NewPage, a business whose products come from the forest, sustainability represents a unique opportunity to make a positive difference for our planet,” says NewPage Vice President of Marketing Steven Devoe. “Joining Two Sides gives us the opportunity to share more broadly how NewPage is contributing to progress in areas from sustainable forestry and reduced greenhouse gas emissions to cleaner manufacturing and recycling. Our Two Sides membership also helps expand our own efforts to correct the many common myths about the sustainability of print and paper.”
“Print and paper have a great environmental story to tell, and Two Sides is pleased to have NewPage join our growing U.S. effort to get the word out to as many people as possible,” says Two Sides President Phil Riebel. “Made from one of the earth’s few truly renewable resources – trees from responsibly managed forests – print and paper is the most recycled commodity in the world. Nearly 68 percent of paper produced in the United States is recovered for recycling. In addition, the demand for responsibly grown wood fiber to make print and paper products provides a long-term financial incentive for private landowners to manage their land sustainably instead of selling it for development – the primary cause of deforestation in the United States,” he says. “And the print, paper and mailing supply chain supports millions of U.S. jobs.”
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04.09.2013
Despite tough year, sales increase 4.3% and Tetra Pak continues to invest to provide customers with the right products at the right price
Tetra Pak®, today announced net sales of €11.16 billion in 2012 - up 4.3 percent from 2011 in comparable terms.
The company’s Packaging Solutions businesses achieved net sales of €9.87 for the year, 4.2 percent higher (comparable terms) than in 2011, with solid growth in South & Southeast Asia, Central & South America, North America, East Europe and Central Asia, and double digit growth in the Middle East and Sub-Sahara Africa.
Sales from Processing Solutions reached €1.29 billion, growing 5.2% year on year (comparable terms), with double-digit growth in North Europe, South & Southeast Asia, Central & South America and Sub-Sahara Africa.
“The economic situation is still tough, with growth slower than before, particularly in China and Brazil, our fastest growing economies. We’ve had to make some tough decisions over the past year to enable us to continue to invest in the development of new products, services and facilities that will enable our customers, retailers and suppliers to thrive in the years to come,” said Tetra Pak President and CEO Dennis Jönsson.
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04.09.2013
AR Metallizing at the brink of creating "smart", disposable metallized paper touch pads. For many consumer goods and beverage companies, labels allowing customers to effectively interact with their brand, are considered the Holy Grail. Similarly, they are seeking solutions to allow their boxed products to communicate with the consumer. With a newly developed application for metallized paper, this ambitious goal might be closer than the industry could have hoped for.
Based on research carried out at Harvard University (researchers Mazzeo, Kalb, Chan, Killian, Bloch and Whitesides) and collaborations with institutes in Portugal and France, a specially developed paper has been demonstrated to yield sufficient capacitive properties to be used as a "touch pad", entirely made of paper. After a straightforward laser etching, followed by connection with cheap electronic interfaces, the paper can be used to detect consumer's "touch" like a smart phone's touch pad. This product, however, is at a fraction of the production cost. Also, by using metallized paper, which is re-pulpable like ordinary paper, it is environmentally friendly. Other advantages in this option include that metallized paper can be easily glued onto surfaces (like a label) or folded or laminated in three-dimensional shapes (like boxes), unlike glass surfaces or thick films.
The researchers and AR Metallizing envisaged and tested prototypes for applications such as: touch sensitive labels, interactive book covers, food labels and boxes, interactive games on cereal boxes, multi-digit disposable code pads on shipping boxes, and even entire paper-based keyboards.
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04.09.2013
A. Schulman, Inc. announced today financial results for the fiscal 2013 second quarter ended February 28, 2013.
"This was the first quarter in quite some time where our Americas and Asia Pacific (APAC) segments could not offset softness in our Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) segment. After several months of relative stability in our European markets, we believe our markets are experiencing another round of weakness as a result of growing economic uncertainties. This is clearly evidenced in the now volatile currency environment. While many of our anticipatory restructuring steps were initiated well in advance of these events, we are considering further SG&A reductions and additional consolidations to better align our capacity with current market demand. We are disappointed in the late-quarter decline in demand in EMEA; however, we are confident in our demonstrated ability to weather such downturns as evidenced by our track record in driving cost savings in excess of $6 million over the last three years," said Joseph M. Gingo, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Although not entirely unexpected, we are also seeing increased global intensity with price competition and are arming our sales teams with effective tools and training to be agile and proactive in the marketplace."
For the fiscal 2013 second quarter, net sales increased 5.3% as a result of contributions from the Company's two recent acquisitions. Combined, these acquisitions added $15 million of incremental net sales to the quarter, a 1.8% improvement in volume, and a favorable impact from foreign currency translation. Volume decreased in the EMEA and APAC segments, which experienced a 1.8% and 1.3% decline, respectively, for the quarter compared with the prior period second quarter.
The Company reported net income for the second quarter of $11.8 million, or $0.40 per diluted share. The translation effect of foreign currency positively impacted net income for the quarter by $0.4 million, or approximately $0.01 per diluted share. The Company recognized a net favorable impact to net income of $7.0 million or $0.24 per diluted share as a result of certain tax related matters, principally associated with the net valuation allowance releases. Adjusted net income was $0.27 per diluted share. The primary driver of the variance between net income and adjusted net income was that the tax related matters only impacted earnings per share.
Net sales for the Americas segment increased by $14.6 million, or 11.2%, to $144.2 million, primarily related to the acquisition of ECM Plastics, Inc. which contributed $9.2 million in the quarter. Volume increased 9.5%; however, gross profit in the Americas decreased 5.9% compared with the prior year. The decline in gross profit was primarily due to an unfavorable mix in the Company's specialty powders product family combined with increased manufacturing costs in anticipation of stronger future demand in Mexico.
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04.09.2013
Cham Paper Group on April 3 said that it is in talks with Delfort Group on a possible collaborative deal in the specialty papers market.
According to Cham Paper, executives from the two specialty paper producers are looking into all strategic options that could further strengthen the market position of both parties.
Specific details of the talks were not disclosed, but Cham said it will issue a statement on the outcome of the project by the end of June 2013 at the latest.
Based in Traun, Austria, Delfort Group produces and distributes specialty papers and has around 1,750 employees at five factories in Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Finland. Similarly to the Cham Paper Group, the family-run company has a widely recognized market position in a range of areas within the specialty papers market.
Founded in 1657, Cham Paper Group is a leading manufacturer of coated specialty papers. At its three locations in Switzerland and Italy, Cham Paper develops and manufactures specialty papers for use in the consumer goods, industrial release and digital imaging sectors.
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04.09.2013
Print advertising is dwindling at consumer magazines. The Publishers Information Bureau released figures showing total magazine ad pages fell 4.9% from 33,673 in the first quarter of 2012 to 32,023 in the first quarter of 2013.
Of 213 titles tracked by the PIB, 107 (50%) experienced ad page declines in the first quarter of 2013 compared to the same period in 2012, with 67 titles (31.5%) experiencing declines of 10% or more, and 26 titles (12.2%) experiencing declines of 20% or more.
Although many categories suffered in the first quarter, women’s interest titles took especially heavy hits, with the lifestyle, domestic, and celebrity categories posting big losses.
In the domestic category, the list of titles experiencing year-over-year declines in the first quarter included Ladies’ Home Journal, down 28.5% to 122 ad pages; Family Circle, down 14.4% to 222; and Better Homes and Gardens, down 11.9% to 249. In women’s lifestyle titles, Woman’s Day was down 11.9% to 240, while Redbook fell 10.7% to 216.
In celebrity and fashion weeklies, OK Weekly was down 22.4% to 263 ad pages; In Touch Weekly was down 21.5% to 127; Life & Style Weekly was down 19.7% to 106; and Star was down 17.7% to 274.
In other categories, significant ad page losses were seen at Forbes, down 19.6% to 266; Food & Wine, down 11.8% to 159; Maxim, down 36% to 53; and New York, down 17.7% to 422.
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04.09.2013
According to a study being released by the Custom Content Council and ContentWise, annual spending on custom content marketing has jumped 9 percent to $44 billion.
According to the report, "Characteristics Study: A Look at the Volume and Type of Content Marketing in America for 2013," marketers are spending 39 percent of their budgets on content marketing campaigns, including print, email, web, video, virtual events, white papers, podcasts and e-zines.
As to be expected, social is a major part of content marketing campaigns, with 81 percent of respondents creating content especially for that platform.
Also according to the study, which is now in its 13th edition, funds are being directed from print vehicles to social and video, with the latter being the fastest growing segment of content marketing. "In this survey, 62 percent of respondents now report using video in their content marketing," says Lori Rosen, executive director of the Custom Content Council. "Branded video is closing in on web and print as one of content marketing's most common forms."
The use of print, however, remains an important segment. According to the study, the average frequency of print vehicles rose to 6 times per year, with the average page count at 30 pages—the most since the survey began. Circulation is also up slightly, to 51,000 per issue, continuing a 4-year trend.
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04.09.2013
Finch Paper will leverage its knowledge of high-speed inkjet technology and color management at two of this Spring’s highly anticipated industry conferences.On April 9-11, Finch Paper will play a prominent role at the Inkjet Summit 2013. The Inkjet Summit is an annual, invitation-only summit designed for industry leaders who want to understand how current and future inkjet production printing technology, software and solutions will impact their business. The Finch Team will present case studies for the book, transactional and direct mail segments during the three-day summit as well as delivering a keynote address with Canon and Ricoh.
On April 16, Finch Digital Application Manager Mary Schilling will give an educational presentation on color management at the annual Xplor International User Conference and Vendor Forum. Schilling leads FIT Color Management and Workflow Services which helps printers optimize their workflow — from design to finishing — to deliver consistent, repeatable color while lowering the total cost of print. Her presentation, “Paper is the First Color,” will examine how paper is a critical color in any print workflow.
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04.09.2013
West Texas Intermediate rose a second day after China reported inflation eased more than forecast last month. U.S. crude stockpiles probably increased to the highest level in 22 years, a Bloomberg survey showed.
Futures gained as much as 0.5 percent in New York after advancing the most in almost two weeks yesterday. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) said it expects supplies at the U.S. delivery hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, to shrink at the end of next month, and pushed back its recommendation for trading the discount on WTI versus Brent. U.S. crude inventories climbed by 1.5 million barrels in the week to April 5 to 390 million, according to a Bloomberg News survey before data from the Energy Department Administration tomorrow.
“Any healthy demand for oil will have to come from Asia or the Middle East,” said Michael Poulsen, an analyst at Global Risk Management in Middelfart, Denmark. “Hopes for a Chinese money bazooka have increased.”
WTI for May delivery advanced as much as 46 cents to $93.82 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was at $93.70 at 9:15 a.m. London time.
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04.09.2013
Newspapers last year showed their first circulation revenue increase in nine years, with growth attributed to the recent success of paid digital circulation, according to new data compiled by the Newspaper Association of America (NAA).
A 5% overall growth in circulation revenue was the first gain in this category for the newspaper industry since 2003. Within that total, for the companies supplying detailed breakdowns, digital-only circulation revenue grew 275%; print and digital bundled circulation revenue grew 499%.
NAA's projections show that total U.S. newspaper media revenue declined by 2% to $38.6 billion last year from $39.5 billion in 2011. Although advertising revenue slipped 6% last year, circulation revenue grew 5% and new revenue sources not tied to conventional advertising increased by 8%. Those sources included digital agency and marketing activities, e-commerce, event marketing and commercial delivery of products other than newspapers.
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04.09.2013
UPM and Element Power have established a wind power development joint venture company in order to develop wind power production possibilities on a number of sites throughout Finland on land leased from UPM.
“UPM is looking to develop a number of areas that could be suitable for wind power production on our land, and we have now found the right development partner. Element Power will bring world class wind development expertise to the joint venture,” says Matti Oksanen, Director, UPM Energy, New Energy Ventures.
The aim of the joint venture is to develop the best suitable land areas owned by UPM to be ready for wind power production. UPM owns approximately 850,000 hectares of land in Finland.
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04.09.2013
Pearson today announced the buyout of Educomp’s shares in IndiaCan, the vocational training joint venture set up by the two companies in 2009. IndiaCan is one of India’s leading vocational training companies with an impressive portfolio of services delivered through an extensive network of pan-India delivery centres.
The buyout of Educomp’s 50 percent shareholding in IndiaCan comes close on the heels of Pearson acquiring 100 percent stake in TutorVista, the Bangalore based education services company after earlier acquiring a majority stake.
Pearson’s acquisition of IndiaCan is another milestone for its ambitions in India, where Pearson has built up a significant education portfolio in a very short span of time.
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04.08.2013
UPM will permanently close down the paper machine 3 at UPM Rauma mill in Finland and the paper machine 4 at Ettringen mill in Germany by the end of the April 2013. The number of employees is reduced by 87 in UPM Rauma mill and by 150 in UPM Ettringen mill.
The employee negotiations concerning the closing plans were concluded in March. UPM has also concluded the employee negotitations with the employee representatives concerning streamlining the Paper Business Group and global functions in Finland. Employee negotiations in global functions continue in several countries following local schedules and processes. The selling processes of UPM Docelles paper mill and UPM Aigrefeuille further prosessing mill in France continue.
In the Finnish employee negotiations the argumentation of personnel reductions, schedule and change support for the redundants were discussed.
“The employee reductions are inevitable under the circumstances. UPM will support former employees through re-employment and retraining in many ways,“ says Jyrki Ovaska, President of the UPM Paper Business Group.
Employee reductions are a result of UPM’s need to permanently reduce paper capacity in Europe by a further 580,000 tonnes. Current business environment also makes evident the need for streamlining of the Paper Business Group and UPM’s global functions to remain cost competitive in the new business scale. UPM announced its plans on January 17, 2013.
The continuing challenges in European economy have significantly impacted the consumption of paper, exacerbating the effect of structural changes in paper end-uses and resulting in further decline in the demand of graphic papers in Europe. High costs and significant overcapacity continue to challenge the industry operators in Europe.
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04.08.2013
Google acquired Frommer’s Travel Guides from Wiley in 2012 — and then, last month, reportedly decided to stop publishing them as print editions. Now Arthur Frommer, the 83-year-old founder of the brand, has bought Frommer’s back from Google and will continue publishing the travel guides in print and digital editions.
The AP reported the news Wednesday night and quoted Frommer saying, “It’s a very happy time for me. We will be publishing the Frommer travel guides in ebook and print formats and will also be operating the travel site Frommers.com.” Google confirmed the news to Engadget, saying, “We can confirm that we have returned the Frommer’s brand to its founder and are licensing certain travel content to him.”
The purchase price was undisclosed. Google reportedly paid Wiley $22 million for Frommer’s last year. The travel site Skift first reported that Google would stop publishing the Frommer’s guides in print.
Frommer’s had published over 300 guidebooks since its founding in 1957.
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04.08.2013
West Texas Intermediate oil rebounded after its biggest weekly drop in six months, snapping three days of losses. Brent’s premium to New York crude was near the smallest it has been since June.
Futures gained as much as 0.9 percent in New York after falling 4.7 percent last week, the biggest drop since the period ended Sept. 21. The main rebel group in Nigeria, Africa’s largest crude producer, said it killed 15 security personnel in an attack in the southern oil-producing Bayelsa state. Net-long positions in WTI held by money managers climbed 3.2 percent in the seven days ended April 2, a report showed.
“We really have seen the bottom in the oil price after the recent selloff,” said Christopher Bellew, a senior broker at Jefferies Bache Ltd. in London.
WTI for May delivery advanced as much as 84 cents to $93.54 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $93.39 at 11:13 a.m. in London. The contract slid 56 cents to $92.70 on April 5, the lowest close since March 21.
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04.08.2013
Effective with all new and existing orders with confirmed delivery dates of May 13, 2013 or later, NewPage is increasing the transaction price for the following coated sheet and sheeter roll products: Anthem®; Fortune®; Gusto® - all prices will increase $1.25/cwt US$/CAD$
This increase applies to all basis weights, finishes and private label programs.
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04.08.2013
Pearson and Bertelsmann today announce that they have been notified by the European Commission that it has approved the proposed merger of Penguin and Random House, without conditions.
The two companies announced their agreement to combine Penguin and Random House in October 2012. The proposed merger is currently under review by a number of other regulatory authorities around the world. To date, approval has been granted by the US Department of Justice in the US, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and The New Zealand Commerce Commission. Pearson and Bertelsmann continue to expect the transaction to close in the second half of 2013, after all necessary approvals have been received.
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04.08.2013
NPTA, the association for the paper distribution industry, is pleased to announce a partnership with PRINT 13, the largest and most innovative global exhibition of digital, offset and hybrid technologies. PRINT 13 will be hosted Sept. 8-12, 2013 at McCormick Place in Chicago.
Its partnership with PRINT 13 will allow NPTA members to receive complimentary registration to the exhibition hall to view demonstrations of the latest technologies for the graphics communications industry and network with printers, publishers, media/print buyers and creative services professionals.
NPTA will exhibit at PRINT 13 and host a networking reception on the show floor on Tuesday, Sept. 10. Members, prospective members and invited guests are invited to attend the complimentary reception to meet NPTA volunteer leaders and staff as well as the leading paper distributors and mills from across the U.S.
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04.05.2013
AAA Fuel Gage 4/05/13
National Unleaded Regular:
Current Average - $3.625/gallon
Month Ago Average - $3.727/gallon
Year Ago Average - $3.936/gallon
Highest Recorded Average - $4.114/gallon on 7/17/08
Diesel:
Current Average - $4.004/gallon
Month Ago Average - $4.111/gallon
Year Ago Average - $4.166/gallon
Highest Recorded Average - $4.845/gallon on 7/17/08
Current Exchange Rates as of 4/05/13
American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.986508
American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.161207
American Dollar to Euro = 1.292836
American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.010392
American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.081004
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04.05.2013
Crude in New York traded near a two- week low, headed for its biggest weekly drop since September as more talks on Iran’s nuclear program get underway.
West Texas Intermediate futures were little changed, poised for a 4.2 percent loss from the March 28 close, the most since the week ended Sept. 21. World powers and Iran started two-day talks in Kazakhstan and U.S. March payroll data will be released later today. Crude stockpiles in the U.S., the world’s largest crude consumer, gained more than forecast last week, to a 22- year high. Declines in London’s Brent crude may be “overdone,” according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
“The market has been a bit negative about payroll figures coming later today, and the surprise could be more on the upside,” said Thina Saltvedt, an analyst at Nordea Bank AG in Oslo.
WTI for May delivery was at $93.12 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 14 cents, at 10:25 a.m. London time. It fell 1.3 percent to $93.26 yesterday, the lowest settlement since March 21.
Brent for May settlement on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange was at $106.22 a barrel, down 12 cents. It declined 0.7 percent to $106.34 yesterday, the lowest close since Nov. 2. The futures have fallen 11 percent from this year’s intraday peak of $119.17 on Feb. 8.
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04.05.2013
HarperCollins Canada today announced that it has acquired a select number of Wiley Canada’s non-fiction backlist titles. The acquisition is effective immediately. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Among the titles purchased are such Canadian classics as the bestselling Mother of All series by Ann Douglas, Ken Dryden’s The Game, recognized as the best book ever written on hockey and one of Sports Illustrated’s best sports books of all time, Hockey Dad, by Bob McKenzie and several cookbooks by Anne Lindsay including Smart Cooking, Lighthearted Everyday Cooking, and her most recent Lighthearted at Home: The Very Best of Anne Lindsay.
"The acquisition of these titles will further strengthen our list of bestsellers in the health, sports, and how-to categories," said Iris Tupholme, Vice President, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. "We are excited to build on the success of these outstanding works and further develop the digital market for them. We are especially happy to welcome these respected authors to our Canadian publishing program."
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04.05.2013
UPM's President and CEO Jussi Pesonen stated his confidence in continued steady development of UPM’s growth businesses at the company's Annual General Meeting held today at the Helsinki Exhibition & Convention Centre, Finland. He also underlined the importance of improved margins and stringent cost control on Group level and in the mature European businesses to maximise the cash flow of the company.
“A solid balance sheet and healthy dividend continue to be the cornerstones of UPM. We are reshaping UPM’s business portfolio to increase UPM’s earnings and valuation for the benefit of all stakeholders,” said Pesonen.
Pesonen highlighted that since 2007, UPM’s Pulp, Energy, Label and Asian Paper Business have grown by 43 % in the topline. Despite the economic slowdowns during the period, these businesses have shown positive and profitable growth figures.
“UPM’s growth businesses’ sales today exceed EUR 4.4 billion and we have confidence in further profitable growth with measured steps. Our target is that more than half of our sales will derive from the well performing growth businesses on the latter half of this decade.”
“Meanwhile sales of our mature businesses Paper, Timber and Plywood have come down by 11 % since 2007. During year 2012 we were able to achieve a small improvement in the EBITDA of our mature businesses but we will continue to focus on securing cash flow and competitiveness in these businesses.”
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04.05.2013
The topic of using recycled fiber in printing papers is being discussed more actively within the Two Sides network these days due to the notion that “more recycled content in printing papers is better for the environment”.
I would add: “it depends on the situation”. I say this because generalizing the benefits of recycled fiber use can be misleading due to the many environmental and economic factors at play in the life cycle of paper products. In other words, wood-based paper grades can be equally or more sustainable if they are being produced responsibly.
We do need to talk about sustainability in this case because buying paper to make printed products involves both economic and environmental considerations. (1)
Recovering and recycling paper products is a good thing. It reduces waste to landfill and extends the use of a valuable raw material. In turn, recovered paper should be re-used as a raw material in products in the most sustainable way possible. That may or may not include high-end printing papers (ex: catalogs and magazines).
There are industry arguments on both sides of the coin. There are many who say that one of the most sustainable ways to use recovered paper is in lower quality grades of paper (ex: carton board, paperboard) where less processing and no de-inking is needed. This typically also means less cost and less environmental concerns. Others point out that high quality recovered paper (if available) should be re-used to make printing papers due to its high content of long (Kraft) fibers. In either situation, the right conditions must be in place to make it environmentally and economically sustainable.
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04.05.2013
Rite Aid Corporation today announced sales results for March.
For the four weeks ended March 30, 2013, same store sales decreased 2.0 percent over the prior-year period. March front-end same store sales increased 3.8 percent, with 3.0 percent of the increase attributable to a shift in the timing of Easter, which fell on March 31 this year compared to April 8 last year. Pharmacy same store sales, which included an approximate 566 basis points negative impact from new generic introductions, decreased 4.5 percent. Prescription count at comparable stores increased 0.3 percent over the prior-year period.
Total drugstore sales for the four-week period decreased 2.5 percent to $1.939 billion compared to $1.989 billion for the same period last year. Prescription sales accounted for 67.6 percent of drugstore sales, and third party prescription sales represented 97.0 percent of pharmacy sales.
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04.05.2013
Like a number of general interest magazine brands, The New Yorker magazine is trying to cultivate more vertical audiences and advertisers special new sections online. This week the site launched what it calls a science and technology hub that features some of the magazine staffs relevant writing on the topic. At the same time it introduces a new blog entitled Elements to include ongoing commentary on science and technology topics.
Some of the magazine’s writers such as Michael Specter, Ken Auletta, John Seabrook, Elizabeth Kolbert and Gareth Cook will have writing highlighted here. The magazine will also begin to its own archives to bring back prominent and prescient science and technology coverage from the magazines long history. At the science and technology hub, Joshua Rothman offers a retrospective on nine decades of science coverage in the magazine.
The launch sponsor for both the science and technology hub and the Elements blog is Siemens.
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04.05.2013
Ahlstrom, a global high performance fiber-based materials company, strengthens its focus on wallcoverings by continuing to invest in product development and production. Ahlstrom is a world leader in the production of materials for wallcoverings.
As part of Ahlstrom EasyLife(TM) product offering, Ahlstrom has developed a nonwoven wallcovering substrate at its Osnabrück plant in Germany. The products have been very well received by customers, and the product range will be expanded during this year with a number of new product launches.
In line with these product developments, an investment program has been carried out to ensure the high quality standards and efficiency needed. "We are fully committed to serving our customers from Osnabrück as well as developing the nonwoven product offering further and completing ongoing investments on the production line at the plant," says Laura Raitio, Executive Vice President, Building and Energy.
Ahlstrom is a global leader in wallcover substrates, offering the most comprehensive product range on the market. Its materials are manufactured in Europe and North America and are part of Ahlstrom's Building and Energy business area. In order to further support the development of the Chinese wallcovering market, Ahlstrom will start manufacturing nonwoven wallcover substrates in Binzhou, Shandong province in China. Production of the high quality and innovative wallcover substrates will start during the second half of 2013.
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04.05.2013
MeadWestvaco Corporation, a global leader in packaging and packaging solutions announced its preference for purchasing certified wood – specifically wood that is certified under the American Tree Farm System® (ATFS).
MWV has a long standing commitment to sustainable forest management. The company certifies its forestlands under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI) and also purchases wood fiber from responsible third-party suppliers. Forest certification and promoting markets for certified fiber is one way MWV demonstrates its commitment to sustainable forest management.
MWV’s commitment is also visible in its corporate sustainability goals, which include a specific goal of increasing the amount of certified fiber used across MWV’s global manufacturing operations. Within the United States, the source of fiber for these facilities is primarily non-industrial, privately-owned forestland and fiber from well-managed family forests; a vitally important component of this program. The American Tree Farm System provides the mechanism to increase certified fiber from family forests.
The American Tree Farm System represents more than 89,000 family forest owners who sustainably manage 27 million acres of forestland in the United States. It is the largest and oldest forest management system in the United States and is a program of the American Forest Foundation. Along with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® program, the ATFS standard has been endorsed under the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, a global program that recognizes excellence in sustainable forest management.
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04.04.2013
Technology that keeps print operations profitable is in high demand. Xerox is answering that call with the next generation of its award-winning iGen4® platform – the Xerox iGen4 Diamond Edition.
With the iGen4 Diamond Edition, job setup is easier and production times are faster, giving print solution providers a competitive edge when producing brochures, catalogs, magazines and direct mail pieces. The newest iGen4 also has precise, repeatable color image quality so the first printed piece looks the same as the last one – a must when matching corporate colors and logos.
Many of the enhancements of the iGen4 Diamond Edition are time saving, automated features found on the Xerox iGen® 150 Press, including the 26" stacker and color maintenance that takes the complexity and manual labor out of analyzing colors.
All the enhancements of the iGen4 Diamond Edition will be available to current iGen4 customers, including:
¦ Automatic Image-to-Paper Setup – manual setups are replaced with a predictable, automated routine, eliminating time consuming paper registration adjustments.
¦ IntegratedPLUS Finishing Solution for Booklets – using JDF technology, booklet production is simplified with one touch job submission and prepress through automated finishing setup.
¦ Automate Order Acquisition – with StoreFlow, web-to-print software from XMPie®, A Xerox Company, users can create profitable B2C storefronts and B2B portals for ordering static, customized and personalized print pieces. StoreFlow can be integrated with FreeFlow® Process Manager to automate prepress file preparation.
¦ Increased Efficiency – with either the EFI Fiery Controller or Xerox FreeFlow Controller, the iGen4 Diamond Edition can handle various workflow solutions to increase production efficiency.
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04.04.2013
Turner Publishing today announced that it has acquired assets from John Wiley & Sons, Inc.'s (NYSE: JWa, JWb) pets, crafts, and general interest consumer publishing program. The terms of the acquisition, which closed April 2, 2013, were not disclosed.
Turner acquired the digital and print assets for approximately 1,500 Wiley titles from its consumer pets, crafts, and general interest publishing programs. Notable brands, authors, and titles include Howell Book House and Baseball Prospectus.
"This strategic acquisition broadens Turner's list, which spans a wide variety of fiction and nonfiction consumer publishing categories and represents an exciting growth opportunity within the crafts, pets, and general interest areas," said Todd Bottorff, President and Publisher of Turner Publishing. "The combination of Wiley's titles with our existing programs will significantly strengthen Turner's market position as a consumer publisher." Turner is a fully integrated publishing company that has produced over 1,000 titles since 1984 in a wide range of fiction and nonfiction categories including home & gardens, health & wellness, history, politics, & current affairs, and self-improvement, among many others.
"We believe that Turner Publishing is well-positioned to provide the strategic focus required for these assets to achieve their full potential and continue to flourish,” said Mark Allin, Wiley's Senior Vice President, Professional Development. "While these assets have contributed to Wiley's success to date, Wiley is reshaping its portfolio to support growth opportunities in global research, education and professional practice, and create products and services that help customers become more effective throughout their education and careers."
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04.04.2013
Walgreens had March sales of $6.16 billion, an increase of 2.3 percent from $6.02 billion for the same month in fiscal 2012.
Total front-end sales increased 5.4 percent compared with the same month in fiscal 2012, while comparable store front-end sales increased 4.2 percent. Customer traffic in comparable stores decreased 1.3 percent while basket size increased 5.5 percent.
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